Facebook banking and cardless ATMs: How mobile is changing banking

In the U.S., mobile banking is catching on among the industry’s two most important demographics: the young (who have yet to establish their banking brand preferences) and the affluent. A Federal Reserve Board survey finds that 48 percent of U.S. smartphone users have used mobile banking tools, up from 42 percent in 2012. Mobile banking now comprises around 8 percent of transactions, per The Wall Street Journal. And while many have yet to start using camera phones to deposit checks, banks are experimenting with other new and novel means of integrating into the mobile experience. Among them:

Photographic bill payment: Much like the automated deposit that allows people to take a picture of a check via a bank’s smartphone app, Texas-based First Financial’s app pays bills simply by using a photograph of the stub. U.S. Bank’s new mobile app has a similar capability.

Biometrics and voice recognition: Why remember log-ins (and type them on those small screens) when technology can identify you through your voice or fingerprint? In addition to authentication, voice recognition can also enable speech-driven transactions. ING Direct Canada is testing both these voice applications.

Facebook integration: ING Direct Canada is also enabling customers to view accounts directly through Facebook and plans to eventually integrate transfers, bill payments and the like. Russian startup Instabank (which has global aspirations) offers accounts via Facebook signup. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia and GT Bank in Nigeria are also using the social platform for banking services.

Cardless ATMs: We’ll see the mobile phone starting to replace the ATM card, with consumers able to “pre-stage” a transaction. Banks in Japan and parts of Europe and Africa are enabling cardless cash withdrawals; in the U.S., JPMorgan Chase is planning to introduce the capability.

Skype: While consumers are increasingly comfortable with mobile and online banking, complex transactions are usually reserved for face-to-face encounters. Enter Skype and other means of video communication. For instance, Bank of America recently introduced ATMs with video displays that enable communication with bank employees.

Although mobile banking is the wave of the future, many consumers will remain wary. Thus, as ING Direct Canada’s Charaka Kithulegoda says, “You have to give the customers choice, whatever platform they want to interact with us.” Meanwhile, don’t expect brick-and-mortar branches to disappear just yet—but watch for them to start looking quite different, as more remodel for a new age of banking.

The worlds of science, gastronomy and art are continuing to cross-pollinate—from edible conceptual art to molecular gastronomy “lab cafés” to synesthetic dining events. Café ArtScience in Cambridge, Mass., is a recent example. Opened late last year by David Edwards, a Harvard engineering professor, the café serves whiskey “fogs” through a special carafe that turns the liquor into vapor (which means consumers don’t take in any of the calories and feel none of the intoxicating effects).

As travelers continue to seek out authentic and unique experiences, hospitality brands keep raising the bar on hyper-localized offerings and exceptional access. Aman, for instance, is introducing a phinisi-style sailing ship in Indonesia, marrying the brand’s ultra-luxe sensibility with regional tradition. With an outdoor lounge and bar, the option to travel by motor, and air-conditioned cabins, the ship brings every modern comfort to an age-old means of navigating the Indonesian archipelago. Another Aman property, meanwhile, offers a dip into paleontology: Guests at Amangiri in southern Utah can join an official dig at the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, working alongside fossil experts for a half-day. The cost of getting one’s hands dirty starts at $600. (Resulting Instagram images: priceless.) —Marian Berelowitz

Adidas’ new Confirmed app cleverly harnesses the fervor of collectors who normally line up for limited-edition shoes, moving fans onto a mobile platform. App users create an account, then get push notifications when hot new releases are on the way. Interested buyers in a given metro area—only New York City at launch—indicate their size and, if approved, receive details on where and when to pick up the shoes. An Adidas exec calls it a “virtual line.” In addition to collecting data on these super-fans, the app lets Adidas control which influencers get various styles, drives traffic to selected stores, builds additional buzz and cuts out secondary-market sellers armed with bots that secure advance orders. —Marian Berelowitz

Kids will slide through a “Tunnel of Terror” and get slimy on “Mount Mud” in Tough Mudder’s new obstacle course for the 7-12 set. The endurance-challenge purveyor is partnering with European soft drink brand Britvic on Fruit Shoot Mini Mudder, with events planned for the U.S., the U.K. and Ireland. The concept caters to parents looking to pry kids away from screens and get them moving—there’s now a CrossFit offshoot for kids, starting with preschoolers—in ways that are challenging and fun.

Not long ago, a collaboration between two rival companies would have been seen as a counterintuitive and perhaps desperate measure. In 2015, however, BMW’s partnership with Volkswagen on fast-charging electric vehicle stations makes the automakers look self-confident, open and serious about sustainability and the common good. Continue reading “Rivals joining forces” »

Taking a cue from private clubs like Soho House—which now has outposts from Berlin to Chicago and Toronto—and cool hotel hangouts like the Ace, the first hotel under Virgin’s affordable-meets-aspirational banner houses a Commons Club. Offering “exclusivity for all,” the Commons hosts a “roundtable of ideas and indulgence” at a nightly social hour and includes a restaurant, bar and study area. Virgin marketing also taps into easyHotel lingo with the promise of no surprise fees and free wi-fi.

A new video from Google shows the latest prototype of its modular phone, which will launch this year in Puerto Rico. Project Ara emphasizes personalization—“What if you could make thoughtful choices about exactly what your phone does, and use it as a creative canvas to tell your own story?”—but the sustainability implications are also important.

The city is the new terrain for Nike’s rebranded all-conditions gear, now named NikeLab ACG. Taking a cue from the urban exploration trend (“urbex”)—which involves venturing into unseen and generally off-limits structures and documenting the adventure—Nike says that “For today’s athletes, the city is the ultimate landscape,” complete with “modern obstacles” and many microclimates. Images show an intrepid explorer on a rooftop amid skyscrapers. The urban environment is now as challenging, intriguing and adventurous as the natural landscape.